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WASHINGTON — After his stunning acquittal on all criminal counts, Richard Scrushy still faces civil charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which some experts say are more likely to be successful for the government.

The SEC’s case was deferred in mid-2003 when it was deemed to be in conflict with the Justice Department’s criminal prosecution of HealthSouth, the medical-services company founded and led by Scrushy. A federal judge halted the SEC’s case until Justice completed its criminal investigation of Scrushy, and lifted an SEC-requested freeze on the estimated $150 million in his opulent assets.

Scrushy escaped prison with his acquittal yesterday on criminal charges of orchestrating a $2.7 billion accounting fraud at HealthSouth. While the SEC is seeking an unspecified fine and restitution, civil charges involve less severe penalties and the burden of proof is significantly lower than in criminal cases.

“There’s absolutely a better chance” for the SEC in a case against Scrushy, said Donald Langevoort, a former SEC special counsel who teaches securities law at Georgetown University.